Penns Manor lockdown spurred by loose bullets

KENWOOD — Students at the Penns Manor school complex had a late start to classes Monday after a student brought some bullets to school, district officials reported.

Penns Manor High School was placed in lockdown at 8 a.m., and the adjacent elementary school was kept closed until district officials and state police verified the building was safe, Acting Superintendent Daren Johnston reported in a news release.

The security measures were taken after students reported to a teacher that they saw some .22-caliber bullets fall from a classmate’s backpack.

School officials and state police searched all high school students and their lockers during the lockdown, Johnston said. Elementary students, who were kept on buses in the parking lot, were allowed to enter their school and senior high students were sent to their classes at 9:45 a.m.

Johnston reported that the student with the bullets told officials that he had placed the bullets in his bag for a hunting trip and forgot about them.

Administrators posted information about the incident on the district website, according to Johnston.

“Please be assured that the incident has been handled according to district policy,” Johnston wrote in a news release. He did not report whether the student would be subject to disciplinary action.